Thomas Jefferys (1710-71) was a royal geographer to King George III and a London publisher of maps. He is well known for his maps of North America, produced to meet commercial demand, but also to support British territorial claims against the French. The period from 1748-63 saw fierce global competition between England and France, culminating in the Seven Years' War, which produced a high demand for maps of the contested territories. This map presents Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island in the wake of the “great upheaval,” when the British ...

This portolan-style chart on vellum was compiled by Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635), the founder of New France, and was originally intended for presentation to the King of France. One of the great cartographic treasures of America, the map offers the first thorough delineation of the New England and Canadian coasts from Cape Sable to Cape Cod, showing Port Royal; Frenchman's Bay; the St. John, St. Croix, Penobscot, and Kennebec Rivers; and Mount Desert Island, which Champlain himself named. The place names and coast line correspond closely to Champlain's ...